Logging in Python 3

Here is one way to set up proper logging in Python.

This sample script sends some messages to syslog and others to a different logfile based upon their priority.

#!/usr/bin/python3

# Import the Standard Library modules we need
import logging
import logging.handlers

def set_up_logging():

    # File handler for /var/log/some.log
    serverlog = logging.FileHandler('/var/log/some.log')
    serverlog.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
    serverlog.setFormatter(logging.Formatter(
        '%(asctime)s %(pathname)s [%(process)d]: %(levelname)s %(message)s'))

    # Syslog handler
    syslog = logging.handlers.SysLogHandler(address='/dev/log')
    syslog.setLevel(logging.WARNING)
    syslog.setFormatter(logging.Formatter(
        '%(pathname)s [%(process)d]: %(levelname)s %(message)s'))

    # Combined logger used elsewhere in the script
    logger = logging.getLogger('wbs-server-log')
    logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
    logger.addHandler(serverlog)
    logger.addHandler(syslog)

    return logger

logger = set_up_logging()
logger.debug('This message should go to the log file')
logger.info('So should this')
logger.warning('And this, too')

Move IPTables log events to a separate logfile

Today some botnet tried to connect to my server over 26,000 times in five hours. They might still be trying.

I have strong firewall protection, and I log all those dropped packets from the firewall. but the records of more than 26,000 dropped packets is filling my syslog and making it unusable.

I used the instructions here to shift that reporting to a separate iptables log, plus enabled logrotate so it gets changed out daily.